The PIC is...

Very powerful project illustrating what the Prison Industrial Complex is and how it manifests in people's lives.

http://www.thepicis.org/

http://chicagopiccollective.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/finaldraftpiczine4-13-11.pdf

http://vimeo.com/oripsolob/pic

Blog Post at Hip Hop Cheerleader

"If you plan on getting raped, you better be white. & if you can’t manage that. You better ask your rapist to be stranger, someone who you weren’t in a relationship with, or out on a date with, or someone who you had sex with before. And you better not be a sex worker. Because sex workers cant be raped. Just so you know. You better be wearing long black clothes, be married, and be from a wealthy family. Make sure you are a virgin too. It would help also, if you were light skinned. if you had long hair. if you were thin. Dark skin marks you as a ho. As hypersexual. As undeserving of protection, autonomy, and bodily protection. Your rape doesn’t count. It would be good if you would keep this in mind."

Read More Here: http://hiphopcheerleader.tumblr.com/post/21048839969/how-to-be-a-victim

Media Coverage of Rape survivor being incarcerated in Sacramento to force testimony.

Update: 4/16/12:  She was released!
~~~~~~
CALCASA has received a number of calls and emails from Rape Crisis Centers and Media outlets regarding a current case in which a 17-year old rape victim in Sacramento is being detained in Juvenile Hall for failure to appear to testify against her rapist. Media coverage on the case sites the reasons given for her detention as: The need to "balance protecting the community... it's important that we try to prevent another victim from being harmed."

How the Right’s Using Women of Color to Shame Abuse Survivors

http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/04/the_problem_with_vawa.html

Supreme Court Ruling Allows Strip-Searches for Any Arrest

 The Supreme Court on Monday ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that officials may strip-search people arrested for any offense, however minor, before admitting them to jails even if the officials have no reason to suspect the presence of contraband.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/us/justices-approve-strip-searches-for-any-offense.html?_r=3

DOD Implements New Changes to Sexual Assault Response

 By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2012 – The Defense Department has refined new methods to aid sexual assault victims whether reporting a crime or seeking assistance as they transition from service, the director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office said here March 30.

Read More Here: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=67792

Shit Men Say to Men Who Say Shit to Women on the Street

New national plan to prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation

http://preventconnect.org/2012/03/new-national-plan-to-prevent-child-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation/

In the News

Senate judiciary committee endorses controversial contraceptive bill
http://www.statepress.com/2012/03/12/senate-judiciary-committee-endorses-controversial-contraceptive-bill/

How Can We Help Kids Define What Is and Isn’t Healthy Sexuality?
http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/03/i_had_one_of_my.html

Film Reveals “The Invisible War” on Women in Our Military
http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/01/film_reveals_the_invisible_war_on_women_in_our_military.html

Anti-Abortion Bill Could Tax Rape Victims
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/kansas-abortion-bill-sales-tax_n_1327301.html?ref=womens-health

CALCASA: A hidden battle – sexual assault in the military

Did you know:

• Military women are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier then killed by enemy fire?
• Only 8% if sexual assault cases are prosecuted in the military and only 2% of those result in convictions?

Read More Here:  http://calcasa.org/calcasa/a-hidden-battle-sexual-assault-in-the-military/

Transgender women from TGI Justice speak out about their experience with the Prison Industrial Complex

Council on Women and Girls: Raising Awareness About Stalking

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/30/raising-awareness-about-stalking

Press Release: Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces End to Backlog that Slowed DNA Analysis at Justice Department Labs

Wednesday, California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced the end to the rape kit backlog that had previously delayed the analysis of evidence collected through forensic examinations. As you know, Atty. Gen. Harris has made the issue of the rape kit backlog one of her priorities.  In her statement, Harris stated that the California Department of Justice will now be able to analyze routine DNA evidence in only 30 days, which is up to four times faster than before the backlog had been eliminated.

See Press Release Here:
http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/print_release.php?id=2615

Shit Everybody Says to Rape Victims

http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/01/shit_everybody_says_to_rape_victims_video.html

Article: Domestic violence activists call on Mirkarimi to step down

read for more info

Report: 'It's War in Here': A Report on the Treatment of Transgender and Intersex People in New York State Men's Prisons

Interviews with imprisoned transgender people and their advocates to document the widespread harassment, physical and sexual abuse, discrimination, and violence that transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming people face inside state custody.

published by Silvia Rivera Law Project
Read the report here: http://srlp.org/files/warinhere.pdf

Article: Queer Injustice: The Widespread Sexual Abuse LGBT People Face in Prison

While sexual violence is part of the daily prison experience for many inmates, LGBT people are disproportionately targeted by staff and prisoners. 
Read more here:
http://www.alternet.org/story/149873/queer_injustice%3A_the_widespread_sexual_abuse_lgbt_people_face_in_prison/

Yale Has Been Systematically Covering Up Crimes For Decades

According to feminist author Naomi Wolf, even though 16 students filed a federal complaint against Yale University last week for its "sexually hostile environment," sexual harassment at Yale is nothing new.
"For at least two decades, Yale has been systematically covering up much more serious crimes than the ones the students have even identified," said the author, who graduated from Yale in 1984, on CBS's Early Show this week.
Read More Here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/05/naomi-wolf-yale-has-been-_n_844869.html?ref=fb&src=sp

Article: Beyond Manning Up: An NYC Paramedic Speaks Out About Men’s Violence Against Women

When I first started in EMS, I was struck by how many domestic violence calls we got. Within weeks, it became a regular part of the night, just another bloody dispute amongst the asthma attacks, strokes, shootings etc.

I’d like to say there was a moment that shook me out of complacency...

Read More

Article: Get An Education, Get Sexually Harassed

A 14-year-old female honor roll student is being forced to choose between her education or her safety as a result of school district budget cuts. The Twin River Unified School District has decided to discontinue its school bus service that picks students up at predetermined locations and takes them to their local high schools. Without the bus service, the young girl must leave home at 6:30 a.m. — usually before sunrise — to walk approximately 2.4 miles to get to school by 7:30 a.m. On several occasions men have stopped while driving their cars to proposition the young girl regarding sexual acts. Some of these men proceeded to follow her for several blocks hurling insults at her because she ignored and rejected their advances.

Read More Here: http://calcasa.org/calcasa/get-an-education-get-sexually-harassed/